Children are back at school. Students are back at university. Strictly is back on TV. All the signs, therefore, point to summer being over and autumn getting started. Now, therefore, seems as good a time as any to look at what that could mean for the housing market.
Increased reliance on listings and virtual viewings
The UK has several months of short, cold days ahead of it. Buyers (and sellers) have become accustomed to using listings and virtual tours due to COVID19. Putting these two facts together raises the possibility that virtual viewings could become commonplace this autumn/winter season.
Buyers as a whole may not, yet, be quite willing to buy a property without seeing it in person. They could, however, potentially be willing to attend a virtual open house. If the outcome of this was favourable, they could then attend a real-world viewing. Using this approach might also help to prevent COVID19 from flaring up again.
COVID19-related hold-ups
Hopefully, the main brunt of COVID19 is now well and truly over. The condition itself, however, is very much still around. Vaccinations and less dangerous variations have thankfully brought down the number of fatalities. It is, however, entirely possible that people are going to get sick with it and need time off work. It’s also very possible that sellers (and buyers) could become wary of this and reinstate COVID19 protocols.
Overall, it’s hard to see how the UK could get through the cold seasons without some kind of spike in COVID19 cases. It, therefore, seems fairly safe to assume that there will be some level of COVID19-related delays. Individually, these may only be minor. Put together, by contrast, they may slow down the housing market significantly unless everybody involved with it pulls together.
Difficulties selling older property
Rented properties already have to meet minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES). Older properties may need significant upgrading to meet these. As a result, they may already be of, at best, limited interest to investors. They may also be or at least become challenging to mortgage.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has already proposed setting mortgage-lenders targets for energy performance. The consultation period for this ended last February (2021). So far, nothing appears to have come of it. That does not, however, guarantee that nothing will come of it in future.
Even without regulation, however, older property may still, effectively, become extremely hard to mortgage. Buyers have to be able to demonstrate that they can afford their mortgage repayments without compromising their essential bills. Older properties can require a lot of fuel to heat (due to their energy inefficiency). This can make it harder for people to meet a lender’s affordability criteria.
Alternatively, older properties may simply become less popular. This may not result in them going unsold. People still need housing. It may, however, result in them receiving lower offers due to potential buyers factoring in the cost of upgrading them.
New demand for city properties
Not all jobs have gone fully remote. Hybrid and on-site jobs still require the holder to be in the workplace at least some of the time. So do many degree courses. Even for totally on-site jobs (or courses), commuting is often an option. The further outside the city you live, however, the more arduous a regular commute becomes (and vice versa).
What’s more, living in the city isn’t always just about having a shorter trip to work. It can be a lifestyle choice too, particularly for younger adults in their pre-child years. With COVID19 restrictions now largely gone, cities have the opportunity to remind people just how much fun they can be. This could help to fuel organic growth in the demand for city properties.
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